In the developed world we view the Internet as an essential communication tool that many would find difficult to live without. The Internet has been shaped by users, for users. Our approach to the Internet is reflected in the direction of development within our online environments. Social networking and citizen journalism has broken down the traditional notions of stature within media, allowing merit to surpass education and qualifications. The ease of creating and sharing content has resulted in common place produsage as a means of conversation. We swoon over emerging communication trends such as twitter and have come to use media in a convergence style. The developed world is moving ahead, being shaped by our collective intelligence, (DIKW therory), but where does this leave the developing world? Are political agendas and a lack of funding for technology infrastructure leaving developing nations behind?
For many years now leaders of worlds poorest nations have felt increasing pressure from the developed world, the World Bank, UNESCO, USAID and other international institutions to allocate resources to the development of new media technologies. The argument here is that the availability and access to the Internet would allow for participation,progress and ultimately the improvement of living conditions for the populations of these nations. The Internet is often interpreted as one of the greatest solutions to decreasing the global divide between rich and poor.
For the purpose of this post, I am specifically going to look at the development of the Internet in Ethiopia. According to the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI) Ethiopia is ranked eighth on the list of worlds least desirable countries to live in, based on living standards and quality of life. (//www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0778562.html)
“The UN classifies countries as “least developed” based on three criteria: (1) annual gross domestic product (GDP) below $900 per capita; (2) quality of life, based on life expectancy at birth, per capita calorie intake, primary and secondary school enrollment rates, and adult literacy; and (3) economic vulnerability, based on instability of agricultural productions and exports, inadequate diversification, and economic smallness. Half or more of the population in the 50 least developed countries listed above are estimated to live at or below the absolute poverty line of U.S. $1 per day.” http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0908763.html
Ethiopia has a long history of civil violence and political uncertainty. The current Prime Minister Meles Zenawi forcefully over threw the communist Mengistu regime in May 1991. Since then the country has struggled with freedom and democracy, elections have come and gone with consistent claims of human rights abuses and corruption. Ethiopia is also actively at war with Eritrea and have a military force in Somalia. It has become apparent that the majority of government funds are allocated to defense interests, leaving large gaps to be filled by foreign aid. Ethiopia has approximately two Internet users per one thousand people. Many of the 80 million people who live in Ethiopia reside in the rural areas, with only 6 million people living in the Capital Addis Ababa.
In 2005 Mr Zenawi publicly acknowledged the importance of the development of universal Internet access for his people and promised to invest in technology to support this concept. He is yet to deliver on this promise. In Addis Ababa most cafes promote wireless Internet access, however it is quite unreliable and very slow. This wireless trend also assumes that people either own or have access to a lap top or wireless device, a luxury that for many is not realistic.
Not only is Internet in Ethiopia hard to come by and frustrating to use, but it is also censored by the government. Since the violence that surrounded the 2005 general election many internationally administered sites have remained restricted. Blogs and news sites that appear to side with any opposition to the Zenawi government are simply banned, leaving no room for democratic debate.
So where does this leave Ethiopians within the context of the produsage concept? Clearly politics is getting in the way of investment in technology infrastructure which has hindered free access to information. Do we, as the developed world have a duty of care to ensure that all people have access to information and knowledge? How can we prioritise development of technology versus food aid, education and health? Why are we so concerned with handing out food and giving out endless emounts of money when clearly the governing authorites in countries like Ethiopia appear to lack motivation to invest in their own deveopment?
We need to rethink forgien aid, rethink handouts and assess the ways in which our giving enables dependance.
Hi, I found your post really interesting but I had a few questions. You said that you think increasing the availability and access of the internet in third world countries will improve their living conditions. I agree that it would but isn’t their much more important things that need addressing in these countries first such as access to clean water and food? According to Elizabeth Gehrman on Harvard University Gazette Online, more than a billion people worldwide lack safe water sources and 40 percent of the world’s population have no basic sanitation. These figures were from not even two years ago and we know that these issues haven’t been solved. You ask an interesting question about how can we prioritise development of technology verses food aid, education and health. I completely agree on the importance of the internet in third world countries but we are a long way away from achieving this and I think these countries would consider basic sanitation and health their first priority. Another issue I was thinking about when reading your post is that all Australians don’t even have access to internet so is that an issue we should address before thinking of internet access in other countries? According the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2006-2007) 64% of Australian homes had internet access. Although this will have increased since this time, there are still areas around Australia that don’t have this luxury. And in Australia’s current economic state, how are we able to contribute to other countries so that they can have access to the internet? Just a few thoughts. But your blog raised some important issues.
Comment by Merryn — April 29, 2009 @ 8:53 am |
Hi Aisha,
The topic of your post is very interesting and is an issue, I feel, that should be on the conscience of any new media professional. Your post prompted me to do some further research and I found that approximately only 23.8% of the world population has access to the internet, with Africa having the lowest percentage (approximately 5.6%) of internet access. You briefly discuss how politics is “getting in the way of the investment in technology and hindering freedom of information,” do you think that greater access to the internet will bring greater transparency and democracy to the Ethiopian people? I ask this, because in countries like Australia and the United States who have the highest world internet penetration rates, we are still seeing struggles with the idea of ‘e-demeocracy.’ Although the concepts of user-generated content and citizen journalism are coming to prominence, government run or oriented websites, blogs and the like are still highly censored. Take for example Malcolm Turnbull’s website; although one can contribute comments and responses, these are only published if they are approved by the site’s moderator. Which basically reflects what Axel Bruns discusses about ‘gatekeeping,’ in that only certain stories are to be covered in the products of mainstream journalism, however this is relevant in the context of citizen journalism.
I look forward to your response,
Miki
Comment by Miki — April 30, 2009 @ 2:13 am |
I think that the issues you bring up in your blog are not only extremely relevant, but also significant in the developed world’s battle to improve the lives of those in undeveloped nations. We constantly hear about increases in the functions and uses of technology, and we also constantly hear about the deplorable living situation and political conditions of many countries throughout the world, yet many people fail to consider how these communications advances may be advantageous to those in strife. The dichotomy between the richest and poorest nations of the world are not diminishing but rather increasing at the same rate that our technologies increase. By continuously leaving behind countries such as Ethiopia, the western world is renouncing its promise to bring them back from the brink of political, intellectual and economic disaster. I could not agree more with your arguments in support of helping to implement the necessary infrastructure in countries such as Ethiopia whilst ensuring we protect their other, more essential needs and admire the controversial issues you tackle with the questions you pose.
Comment by lizallen90 — May 4, 2009 @ 4:08 am |
Your last point raises some interesting questions. Many will not consider the development of technology beneficial to a struggling nation. These people would see physical aid in the form of food, education and health, as instrumental in rebuilding Ethipoia. But then there are those that see technology as a tool, or medium, through which all other fundamentals of life can be achieved.
There have been many documented cases of how the internet has helped people in difficult and life-threatening situations to escape from their danger. Like student James Buck, who used Twitter to help free himself from an Egyptian prison. It can also be used in a similar context to ask the developed world for aid – in what ever form the developing nations need. And within the internet landscape, only produagse processes can be used in such a context. The open participation and meritocratic environment required for produsage, allows anyone with access to internet the opportunity to be creators of content – content that lets the developed world know about their life.
But we then come back to the requirements of produsage: access to the internet, basic literacy and technological skills – are these too difficult for citizens of a developing nation? Should we focus on education, and then technological advancements will automatically rise as knowledge about these processes increases? There are many things to think about when using produsage as a tool to help those in developing countries.
Comment by nitias — May 4, 2009 @ 4:55 am |
Niti, I appreciate your comments, I too agree that yes basic levels of education are a requirement when considering daily usage of technology. I am not dismissing the basic requirements for life, which are food, water, shelter and safety. Education and Health are obviously priorities. How can one use the internet if one cannot read and write? I have approached this discussion from the point of view that Ethiopia is receiving a lot of financial aid. But what happens when those given the opportunity to become educated become educated? The thing we must realise is that for many Ethiopians aid has indeed assisted with education. Like a lot of other developing nations, education is seen as one of the major stepping stones to prosperity. Education is highly regarded, so much so that a Bachelors degree is almost meaningless alone, these days in Ethiopia it is very important to pursue post graduate studies, and competition is fierce. But what then? In Ethiopia those who are highly education are leaving the country for promise of more money and better living conditions. Most young Ethiopians will tell you that they aspire to live abroad.
Technology has held back further development of the country. These days there is only so much that one can do without technology. Here in Australia technology assists our daily lives in ways that we are aware of but are so used to that we overlook and tend to expect. You cannot use a GPS system in Ethiopia, there are only ATMs inside banks that are essentially controlled by the government and are heavily guarded. To access an ATM I had to be security searched to get inside a bank, wait in line for about 15 minuets, walk through a metal detector, be padded down again before being let into a little room where a security guard watched me withdrawal my money. These can only be accessed during business hours. All banking is done manually, in fact everything is done manually. The paperwork of this bureaucracy is immense. Ethiopia has been left behind by the lack of technology, leaving the Ethiopian people behind in the context of the globalisation . We buy the latest gadgets like the iphone and check email or update twitter wherever we like and whenever we like, yet students in Ethiopia have to rely on the hard copy information they are able to access in their libraries for research. I could go on and on with comparisons. After going to Ethiopia I have been able to reflect on how technology assists my life on a daily basis, but it also made me very aware and worried about the lack of technology and how this may hinder a developing nation. I know that the basic building blocks for life are a priority, and we can assist with this (the debate about if monetary handouts actually help developing countries is an entirely different discussion that I may pick up in future blogs). The onus falls back on the people that run Ethiopia. They have a responsibility to their people, they need to help Ethiopia keep up with the rest of the world. We need to pressure our governments to pressure their government. Kevin Rudd sat next to Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi at the G20 summit. Here would have been a perfect opportunity for leaders of the developed world to assist with the planning and implementation of technology that we take for granted. Access to the internet for all Ethiopians would create an infinite amount of opportunities for the Ethiopian people. It is the world’s diversity which is its greatest asset; we are still completely unaware of the potential of many countries. The world needs to put some energy into levelling the playing field.
Comment by aishaglen — May 5, 2009 @ 4:45 am |